History tells us that not so many centuries ago, neither of us – the peoples of Africa and of Asia – considered the other barbarians. Rather, sovereign efforts by peoples separated by great geographic distances reflected a view which indicated a willingness in a manner which celebrated a common humanity based on the fundamental notion that the existence of one was dependent on the equally successful existence of the other. Accordingly, the Chinese fleets of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries brought to African ports not the destruction and despair of the Arabian and European slave trade and European colonialism, but mutually beneficial cooperation. 

We shall recall the anecdote of history, when, in 1416, the King of Malindi sent a giraffe – in our own languages known as indlulamthi – “the animal that towers above the trees” – as a gift o the Ming Emperor. If you asked why the gentle giraffe rather than an animal obviously representing the prowess and invincibility of the African kingdoms – as would be represented by the elephant, the lion or the leopard, I would answer that the King of Malindi sent a giraffe to the Forbidden City to pay tribute to a ruler who could see in the distance, watching to ensure that his kingdom and its people came to no harm. And so this special animal arrived at the Ming Court as a tribute to the fact that the people of the East had managed to grow beyond the trees of their forests. As a result, they have espied the coast of Africa to which they had brought a message of cooperation, mutual respect and trade – improving the lives of the peoples of both Asia and Africa. 

It is with much appreciation that we know that the history of Africa – China relations did not end there. At critical points in the development of our Continent, the desire for cooperation and mutual benefit rekindled the flame of Sino-African relations. In Bandung in 1955, we found solidarity as we both emerged from decades of enslavement, colonization and turmoil. Half a century later, we again rekindled that spirit in the China-Africa Cooperation Forum, where China again committed herself to support the Renaissance of Africa. 

Today, our South Africa is in that period of time which the Setswana-speaking people of Southern Africa graphically describe as “Mahube a naka tsa kgomo” – the dawning of the dawn, when only the tips of the horns of the cattle can be seen etched against the morning sky. As the sun continues to rise to banish the darkness of the long years of colonialism and apartheid, what the new light over our land must show is a nation diligently at work to create a better life for itself.

                                                                        Thabo MBEKI

                                                                PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA